Areva in fuel deal for Swiss nuclear plant

French nuclear company Areva has been awarded a contract for the fabrication of fuel assemblies for five reloads at Gosgen nuclear power plant in Switzerland.

The company will deliver 180 fuel assemblies to the plant's owner, Swiss utility Gosgen-Daniken, starting in 2018.

Areva was involved in the building of the 1020 MW plant – which produces district heating as well as power – and has been fabricating its fuel elements since it was commissioned in 1979.

The company is currently retrofitting the reactor’s instrumentation and control technology.

Gosgen is one of five reactors operating in Switerland. In 2011 following the Fukushima disaster in Japan, the Swiss government resolved to phase out nuclear power by 2034.